1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of methods for re-hosting computer-based applications. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and program product for costing and planning the re-hosting, or migration, of computer-based applications from source computer-based platforms to target computer-based platforms.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of computer systems and applications greatly simplifies the storage and processing of data. Nevertheless, the large volume of data that a business processes in a short time period can cause the business to become entrenched in its use of a particular platform or computer-based environment. By the time a significant advance is made, the business may be so mired within an antiquated system that it is forced to lose money each year due to the inefficiencies of the system. In response to this problem, methods and systems for migrating applications among computer-based platforms have been developed.
Re-hosting applications from a source platform to a target platform can be expensive, but a time typically arrives when the cost of continuing inefficiencies outweighs the cost of migration. A business must be able to determine when it reaches this condition, in order to obtain the most benefit from its time and monetary expenditures on a migration. Nevertheless, while methods for migration have grown, businesses have been unable to estimate the cost for migration of applications within useful tolerances. Hence, businesses are prone to waste their resources by significantly undershooting or overshooting the point when migration becomes a cost-effective solution.
In addition to the cost of a migration project, a business also needs to allow for downtime and other lapses in its application and computer system operations. Again, current migration methods overlook this logistical question and only focus on the end result. A business undergoing migration can suffer needlessly, then, due to an inability to plan precisely for the length of interruption in its operations. This adds to the true cost of migration, forcing some businesses to undergo migration of applications either sooner, or later, than it becomes cost-effective.
As a result, there exists a great need in the art for a method of estimating the cost of application migration, on a per application basis, within specified tolerances. Additionally, there is a great need in the art for a method of estimating the time required for application migration, on a per application basis, within specified tolerances. The method must provide a thorough analysis of factors that affect the cost and time required for the migration of individual applications, in order to overcome the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of ad hoc plans and cost estimates.